Comment period set to close on school lunches

Produce industry members have just days to tell the U.S. Department of Agriculture their thoughts on a proposal that would add more fruits and vegetables to school childrensâ meals.

âThere is no one that benefits more in this proposed rule than fruits and vegetables â no one,â said Lorelei DiSogra, vice president of nutrition and health for the Washington, D.C.-based United Fresh Produce Association.

In an e-mail, DiSogra urged association members to submit comments on the proposed USDA rule. The comment period for the Nutrition Standards in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs expires April 13.

Children now eat less than half of the recommended daily servings of fruits and vegetables for good health, DiSogra said in the e-mail. There have been no changes to school lunch nutrition standards for 15 years.

The USDA said in the proposed rule that the biggest change in the nutrition standards for school breakfast is the increase in fruit, which doubles the current requirement to one cup a day. Meanwhile, school lunches will see an increase of nearly four servings a week in fruits and vegetables.

The association objects to one provision in the rule that limits starchy vegetables â white potatoes, corn and peas â served in school meals.

âThat proposal is not aligned with the Dietary Guidelines, and inappropriately restricts a healthy vegetable,â DiSogra said in the letter.

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About the Author:

Tom Karst

Tom Karst is national editor for The Packer and Farm Journal Media, covering issues of importance to the produce industry including immigration, farm policy and food safety.
He began his career with The Packer in 1984 as one of the founding editors of ProNet, a pioneering electronic news service for the produce industry. Tom has also served as markets editor for The Packer and editor of Global Produce magazine, among other positions.
Tom is also the main author of Fresh Talk, www.tinyurl.com/freshtalkblog, an industry blog that has been active since November 2006.
Previous to coming to The Packer, Tom worked from 1982 to 1984 at Harris Electronic News, a farm videotext service based in Hutchinson, Kansas.
Tom has a bachelor’s degree in agricultural journalism from Kansas State University, Manhattan.
He can be reached at tkarst@farmjournal.com and 913-438-0769. Find Tom's Twitter account at www.twitter.com/tckarst.